12 accused freed, granted bail

All the 12 accused, facing estafa charges for allegedly using counterfeit credit cards in Dumaguete City, have gone out of detention, after the Regional Trial Court Branch 38 granted them bail by Judge Cenon Voltaire Repollo.

The court, earlier on October 27, granted bail to eight of the accused at P32,000 each, and yesterday granted the same to the four others, but the bail bond of one of them was set only at P16,000 for not using an alias when asked by the court about their true identities.

The eight, who were earlier granted bail, are Ronnel Sotolombo, Ralph Levin Lizardo, Niño Peñada, Roberto Consul Jr., Duchaun Herbert Mendoza, Ray Lester C. Lizardo, Jonathan Adajar, and Bernardo Saragina.

In yesterday’s hearing, the court granted bail to Mark Joseph Nombre, Michael Mijares, Ramon Viscarra, and Alpha Christian Villanueva, who was the only one who gave his true identity to the court.

Lawyer Freddie Hermosa, legal counsel for Consul Jr. has confirmed that a court order was already issued for the temporary liberty of the accused, but they will have to appear in court during the trial scheduled on the first week of December.

The City Prosecutors Office is also scheduled to issue a resolution of three other complaints against the 12 for estafa, violation of Republic Act 8484 or the Access Devices Act, and for violation of the Cybercrime Prevention Act.